OFFICERS  AND  MEMBERS  OF  THE  BOARD 

Pres.  W.  Douglas  Mackenzie,  D.D.,  Chairman 
Mr.  Fennell  P.  Turner,  Secretary 
Rev.  Wm.  I.  Chamberlain,  Ph.D.,  Treasurer 
Rev.  James  L.  Barton,  D.D. 

Prof.  Harlan  P.  Beach,  D.D. 

David  Bovaird,  Jr.,  M.D. 

Prof.  O.  E.  Brown,  D.D. 

Prof.  Ernest  DeWitt  Burton,  D.D. 

Miss  Helen  B.  Calder 
Prof.  Edward  W.  Capen,  Ph.D. 

>  Prof.  W.  O.  Carver,  D.D. 

Rev.  George  Drach 
•<  Rev.  James  Endicott,  D.D. 

Rev.  F.  P.  Haggard,  D.D. 

Pres.  Henry  C.  King,  D.D. 

Prof.  Walter  L.  Lingle,  D.D. 

Rt.  Rev.  Arthur  S.  Lloyd,  D.D. 

Rev.  R.  P.  Mackay,  D.D. 

John  R.  Mott,  LL.D.  .  ^ 

Bishop  W.  F.  Oldham,  D.D. 

Principal  T.  R.  O’Meara,  D.D. 

‘^Pres.  C.  T.  Paul,  Ph.D. 

Prof.  Henry  B.  Robins,  Ph.D. 

Prof.G.  A.  Johnston  Ross,  M.A. 

Dean  James  E.  Russell,  LL.D. 

T.  H.  P.  Sailer,  Ph.D. 

Miss  Una  Saunders  -  >  ^ 

Prof.  E.  D.  Soper,  D.D. 

Robert  E.  Speer,  D.D. 

'  Pres.  J.  Ross  Stevenson,  D.D. 

Pres.  Addie  Grace  Wardle,  Ph.D. 

Rev.  Charles  R.  Watson,  D.D. 

Pres.  Wilbert  W.  White,  Ph.D. 

Pres.  Mary  E.  Woolley,  Litt.D. 

Rev.  Frank  K.  Sanders,  Ph.D.,  Director 
25  Madison  Avenue,  New  York  City 


THE  BOARD  OF  MISSION¬ 
ARY  PREPARATION 


i 

Its  Origin 

The  Board  of  Missionary  Preparation  originated 
at  the  World  Missionary  Conference  of  1910  at 
Edinburgh  through  the  masterly  report  of  Com¬ 
mission  Five  on  the  Education  of  Missionaries. 
Based  upon  a  long-extended  investigation  this 
report  voiced  with  startling  emphasis  the  views  of 
missionaries  in  the  field  and  of  mission  experts 
everywhere  to  the  effect  that  far  too  much  time 
was  being  spent  on  the  foreign  field  by  young 
missionaries  in  gaining  proficiency.  The  very  gen¬ 
eral  explanation  of  this  costly  condition  was,  on 
the  one  hand,  the  failure  of  missionary  candidates 
to  use  to  best  advantage  the  years  of  preparation 
in  the  homeland  together  with  the  first  year  or  two 
on  the  field  and,  on  the  other,  the  failure  of  the 
institutions  engaged  in  the  training  of  mission¬ 
aries  to  provide  the  education  best  adapted  to 
the  needs  of  candidates.  The  report  concluded 
with  the  recommendation  that  Boards  of  Mis¬ 
sionary  Studies  be  created  at  the  home  base  to 
take  the  lead  in  placing  the  whole  process  of 
preparation  on  a  more  satisfying  and  scientific 
basis. 

The  discussion  of  the  report  of  Commission  Five 
at  Edinburgh  brought  out  the  administrative  and 
economic,  no  less  than  the  religious  importance  of 
this  recommendation.  It  was  readily  seen  that 


i 


if  the  period  required  to-day  for  the  development 
of  a  competent  missionary  could  be  considerably 
reduced  the  administrative  benefit  would  be  im¬ 
pressive.  At  the  same  time  the  individual  candi¬ 
date  would  greatly  profit  by  reason  of  the  direc¬ 
tion  given  to  his  studies  and  the  anticipation  of 
many  of  his  problems. 

The  outcome  of  this  discussion  was  the  prompt 
organization  in  Great  Britain  of  a  Board  of  Mis¬ 
sionary  Study,  which  is  rendering  splendid  service 
to  the  Mission  Boards  of  the  United  Kingdom. 

In  January,  1911,  the  Foreign  Missions  Confer¬ 
ence  of  North  America,  responding  to  the  recom¬ 
mendation  of  the  Continuation  Committee  of  the 
World’s  Missionary  Conference,  appointed  a 
Committee  of  Nineteen  empowered  “to  consider 
whether  a  Board  of  Missionary  Studies  shall  be 
created  in  North  America”  and  “to  take  any 
action  which  it  may  consider  desirable  for  the 
creation  of  such  a  Board.” 

On  January  13,  1911,  this  committee  met  and 
appointed  a  special  committee  to  “study  the  whole 
subject,  present  a  scheme  of  organization,  and 
present  a  list  of  names  from  which  may  be  drawn 
a  thoroughly  representative  Board.” 

On  June  8,  1911,  the  Committee  of  Nineteen 
received  and  approved  the  report  of  its  sub-com¬ 
mittee,  adopted  a  constitution  for  the  new  organ¬ 
ization,  appointed  a  Board  of  thirty-six  members 
representative  of  the  various  interests  involved, 
and  designated  officers  to  act  until  the  next  meet¬ 
ing  of  the  Foreign  Missions  Conference,  when 
they  could  be  regularly  elected  by  the  Conference. 

The  next  half  year  was  devoted  to  a  careful 
study  of  plans  of  procedure. 


2 


The  first  annual  meeting  of  the  newly  created 
Board  was  held  on  December  6,  1911.  At  that 
meeting  plans  involving  a  fresh  survey  of  the 
problems  underlying  missionary  preparation  in 
North  America  were  determined.  Four  commit¬ 
tees  were  set  up  to  investigate  and  report,  one  on 
Plans  and  Practise  of  Foreign  Missionary  Boards 
as  to  the  Preparation  required  of  their  Candi¬ 
dates;  one  to  study  “The  Present  Facilities  Af¬ 
forded  Missionary  Candidates  in  Institutions  and 
Movements”  and  to  discover  what  further  facili¬ 
ties  were  needed  for  the  training  of  missionary 
candidates;  one  on  Courses  of  Reading  for  Candi¬ 
dates  under  appointment  for  Foreign  Missionary 
Service  and  for  Missionaries;  and  one  to  define  the 
“Fundamental  Qualifications  for  Missionary 
Work.”  These  reports  were  presented  to  the  sec¬ 
ond  annual  meeting  held  in  New  York  City  on 
December  6,  1912.  They  are  to  be  found  in  the 
Second  Annual  Report  of  the  Board. 

The  value  of  this  method  of  procedure  became 
so  manifest  at  this  second  annual  meeting  that 
the  Executive  Committee  was  authorized  to  pro¬ 
ject  and  organize  a  fresh  series  of  investigations 
relating  to  the  special  preparation  necessary  for 
candidates  preparing  for  different  types  of  mis¬ 
sionary  service.  Four  committees  were  appointed, 
one  on  the  Preparation  of  Ordained  Missionaries, 
one  on  the  Preparation  of  Educational  Mission¬ 
aries,  one  on  the  Preparation  of  Medical  Mis¬ 
sionaries  and  one  on  the  Preparation  of  Workers 
among  Women.  The  reports  of  these  committees 
were  presented  to  the  third  annual  meeting  held 
in  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  on  January  5,  1914,  and  pub¬ 
lished  in  the  Third  Annual  Report  of  the  Board. 

The  rapid  broadening  of  the  work  of  the  Board 
confirmed  its  members  in  their  original  conviction 


3 


that  a  Director  was  essential  to  give  his  whole 
time  and  experience  to  the  leadership  of  the  enter¬ 
prise.  On  June  15,  1914,  Dr.  Frank  K.  Sanders 
was  called  from  the  presidency  of  Washburn  Col¬ 
lege,  Topeka,  Kansas  to  be  the  Director  of  the 
Board. 


II 

Its  Program 

The  Board  of  Missionary  Preparation  soon  dis¬ 
covered  that  these  investigations  and  reports  led 
on  to  its  rendering  on  behalf  of  the  Foreign  Mis¬ 
sion  Boards,  their  missionaries  and  their  candi¬ 
dates  a  variety  of  services  for  which  it  would  be 
impracticable  for  most  Boards  to  provide. 

1.  It  constantly  investigates  and  formulates  the 
Problems  involved  in  Adequate  Preparation. — As 
stated  above,  the  Board  of  Missionary  Preparation 
set  itself  promptly  to  the  task  of  formulating  reli¬ 
able  ideals  of  preparation  for  missionary  service. 
The  first  two  series  of  investigations  have  been 
described.  In  1915  the  Board  completed  and  pub¬ 
lished  a  series  of  six  reports  on  Preparation  for 
Fields  of  Missionary  Labor.  These  discussed  the 
special  preparation  needed  by  a  missionary  ap¬ 
pointed  to  China,  India,  Japan,  Latin  America, 
the  Near  East  and  Pagan  Africa.  They  are  to  be 
found  in  the  Fourth  Annual  Report.  During  1916 
the  Board  has  been  at  work  upon  a  series  of  five 
reports  on  Preparation  for  Dealing  with  Peoples 
Professing  Other  Religions  than  Christianity. 
Several  of  these  reports  will  appear  early  in  1917, 
but  they  require  much  time  for  completion. 

Each  of  the  reports  in  the  four  series  already 
issued  have  been  in  the  first  instance  prepared  by 
a  committee,  carefully  selected  for  its  first-hand 


4 


knowledge  of  the  theme  or  for  an  authoritative 
grasp  of  it.  Each  report  as  issued  by  its  com¬ 
mittee  is  printed  and  sent  all  over  the  world  for 
the  searching  criticism  of  those  who  are  recognized 
as  experts.  It  is  then  carefully  revised,  often 
twice.  In  consequence  the  reports  are  as  nearly 
as  possible  representative  of  the  judgments  of 
the  whole  missionary  world.  They  seem  to  be 
read  as  eagerly  by  experienced  missionaries  as  by 
novices. 

2.  It  makes  These  Results  available  for  Mission 
Boards,  Educational  Institutions'  and  Missionary 
Candidates. — These  reports  are  published  at  actual 
cost.  They  are  distributed  by  the  various  Mission 
Boards  to  those  who  are  looking  forward  to  ser¬ 
vice  on  the  mission  field.  They  may  be  ordered 
directly  from  the  Board  of  Missionary  Preparation 
at  the  prices  indicated  at  the  end  of  this  pamphlet. 
The  Board  is  not  provided  with  the  means  for 
free  distribution. 

The  reports  are  rapidly  becoming  a  small  library 
of  missionary  preparation.  Eventually  they  will 
afford  an  answer  to  all  questions  naturally  raised 
by  the  keen,  enthusiastic  student  of  the  missionary 
enterprise. 

3.  It  studies  the  Definite  Needs  of  the  Mission¬ 
ary  Candidate  during  his  Days  as  a  Student. — 
Everyone  who  hopes  to  go  to  the  mission  field 
requires  much  expert  advice  regarding  his  pro¬ 
gram.  Each  candidate  needs  individual  attention. 
The  Board  aims  to  supplement  and  strengthen  in 
every  feasible  way  the  work  of  the  candidate  secre¬ 
taries  of  the  Boards  in  their  study  of  the  person¬ 
ality,  educational  history  and  destination  of  the 
candidates  under  their  direction. 

4.  It  aids  in  studying  the  Needs  of  the  Young 
Missionary  during  his  First  Term  of  Service  on 
the  Field. — This  term  of  from  five  to  seven  years 


5 


is  the  most  critical  period  in  the  life  of  the  young 
missionary.  He  is  in  sore  need  of  wise  advice 
born  out  of  experience.  The  Board  of  Missionary 
Preparation  seeks  to  collate  such  counsel  and  to 
make  it  available  to  the  young  missionary  through 
its  publications. 

5.  It  seeks  to  help  Him  to  make  a  Fruitful 
Use  of  His  First  Furlough. — The  modern  strategy 
of  missions  calls  for  increasing  specialization  even 
along  with  general  ability.  The  able  missionary 
of  the  future  will  seek  to  he  more  or  less  of  an 
authority  in  some  specific  direction,  of  importance 
to  his  field  or  suggested  by  it.  The  Board  is 
deeply  interested  in  aiding  the  Foreign  Boards 
and  their  missions  in  promoting  the  selection  and 
encouragement  of  these  studies  and  particularly 
in  helping  the  individual  missionary  to  make  a  wise 
use  of  a  part  of  his  first  furlough  in  furthering 
them. 

6.  It  cooperates  with  the  Boards  in  persuad¬ 
ing  different  Types  of  Educational  Institutions  to 
provide  the  Courses  required  by  candidates.— The 
alert  and  zealous  student  may  often  be  prevented 
from  making  the  wisest  use  of  his  time  as  a  stu¬ 
dent  for  lack  of  proper  opportunities.  The  Board 
through  conference  with  leaders  of  each  type  of 
educational  activity,  whether  collegiate  or  pro¬ 
fessional,  seeks  to  assist  in  establishing  certain 
standards  of  equipment,  organization  and  cur¬ 
riculum,  which  will  give  to  each  institution  its 
maximum  efficiency  with  reference  to  missionary 
preparation. 

7.  It  serves  through  its  Office  as  a  Central  Bu¬ 
reau  of  Information  on  Questions  of  Preparation 
for  Secretaries  of  Boards,  for  Missionaries  on 
Furlough ,  for  Schools  and  for  Candidates. — The 


6 


questions  which  are  legitimately  raised  by  candi¬ 
dates  who  seriously  consider  their  problems  are 
innumerable  and  usually  quite  technical.  To  an¬ 
swer  them  wisely  taxes  the  resources  of  anyone 
particularly  of  a  busy  Secretary.  The  Board  of 
Missionary  Preparation  places  its  resources  at  the 
disposal  of  the  Mission  Boards  for  the  careful 
investigation  of  such  problems  and  their  helpful 
solution. 

The  range  of  the  Board  is  thus  far-reaching. 
As  far  as  possible  its  work  reflects  the  judgment 
of  the  missionary  experience  of  the  world.  It  fills 
a  place  of  usefulness  which  no  other  organization 
occupies.  It  occupies  a  unique  field  which  taxes 
its  resources  to  the  utmost,  gives  promise  of  steady 
enlargement  and  broadening  influence,  and  serves 
as  a  fresh  incentive  to  the  spirit  of  friendly  co¬ 
operation  among  Christian  believers  for  the  fur¬ 
therance  of  the  Kingdom. 

Any  inquiries  regarding  its  work  or  its  publica¬ 
tions  and  any  request  for  its  services  should  be 
addressed  to  the  Director, 

Rev.  Frank  K.  Sanders,  Ph.D., 

25  Madison  Avenue, 
New  York  City. 


7 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2019  with  funding  from 
Columbia  University  Libraries 


https://archive.org/details/boardofmissionarOOsand 


PUBLICATIONS  OF  THE 
BOARD 

PUBLICATIONS  OF  THE 
BOARD  OF  MISSIONARY  PREPARATION 

The  Second  Annual  Report  (1912) 

Containing  the  reports  on  ‘‘Fundamental  Quali¬ 
fications  for  Missionary  Work”  and  on  the  “Facili¬ 
ties  for  Training  Missionary  Candidates.” 

Paper,  price  25  cents,  postpaid. 

The  Third  Annual  Report  (1913)  ' 

Rich  in  suggestions  concerning  the  special  train¬ 
ing  which  evangelistic,  educational,  medical,  and 
women  missionaries  should  seek.  It  also  contains 
a  report  on  the  use  of  the  missionary  furlough, 
a  list  of  the  institutions  which  offer  special  courses 
for  candidates  and  suggestions  of  valuable  courses 
of  reading. 

Paper,  price  25  cents,  postpaid. 

The  Fourth  Annual  Report  (1914) 

Containing  reports  on  preparation  for  different 
fields,  such  as  China,  Japan,  India,  Latin  America, 
the  Near  East  and  Pagan  Africa.  It  also  includes 
full  reports  of  the  two  important  Conferences  on 
Preparation  of  Ordained  Missionaries  and  Admin¬ 
istrative  Problems. 

Paper,  price  50  cents,  postpaid. 

The  Fifth  Annual  Report  (1915) 

Containing  reports  of  two  important  Confer¬ 
ences  on  Preparation  of  Women  for  Foreign  Ser¬ 
vice  and  Preparation  of  Medical  Missionaries, 
besides  other  reports. 

Paper,  price  25  cents,  postpaid. 


